Dr Zoë Fritz is a Wellcome Fellow in Society and Ethics, and a Consultant Physician in Acute medicine at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. Her research is focused on identifying areas of clinical practice that raise ethical questions and applying rigorous empirical ethical analysis to explore the issues and find effective solutions.

Her work evaluating problems with Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation ( DNACPR) notices has led to the development of a more patient-centred approach, the ReSPECT process (Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment) which is now in use in many parts of the UK. 

Other areas of work include studying how clinicians make decisions to refer and admit patients to ICU; examining how information is shared with patients in hospitals; considering when areas of non-disclosure are morally permissible in medicine; applying the theories of Rawls and Scanlon to health policy, and working with the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology to address issues of withdrawing clinically assisted nutrition and hydration from those in minimally conscious or permanently vegetative states.

Based at THIS institute (The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute) she is currently examining the practical, ethical and legal implications of how uncertainty in diagnosis is communicated and recorded, particularly in the acute setting.